title: Rickettsial spotted fever in capoeirão village, Itabira, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
abstract: The present study investigated the infection by spotted fever rickettsia in an endemic area for Brazilian spotted fever (BSF; caused by Rickettsia rickettsii) in Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Human, canine and equine sera samples, and Amblyomma cajennense adult ticks collected in a rural area of Itabira City, Minas Gerais State were tested for rickettsial infection. Through Immunofluorescence Assay (IFA) we demonstrated the presence of antibodies anti-R. rickettsii in 8.2%, 81.3% and 100% of the human, canine and equine sera, respectively. None of the 356 tick specimens analyzed were positive for Rickettsia by the hemolymph test or Polymerase Chain Reaction technique (PCR) for the htrA and the gltA genes. Our serological results on horses and dogs (sentinels for BSF) appoint for the circulation of a SFG Rickettsia in the study area, however in a very low infection rate among the A. cajennense tick population.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Preventive Veterinary Medicine Department, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Manoella Campostrini Barreto
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Vianna
authors.forename: Maurício Claudio
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Horta
authors.forename: Luis Antônio
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Sangioni
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cortez
authors.forename: Rodrigo Martins
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Soares
authors.forename: Cláudio Lisias
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Mafra
authors.forename: Márcio Antônio Moreira
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Galvão
authors.forename: Marcelo Bahia
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Labruna
authors.forename: Solange Maria
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Gennari
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004285:Dogs; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006736:Horses; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000382:microbiology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012281:Rickettsia / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D012373:Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000662:veterinary; D013987:Ticks / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D004269:DNA, Bacterial